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Oiver Moore's Big Birthday Performance Powers Blackhawks Past Hurricanes In Shootout

After a long, emotional stretch of games celebrating the past, the Chicago Blackhawks are now back to being focused solely on the future. On Thursday night, they hit the road for one game to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Carolina, known for playing a suffocating style defensively, is a hard team to play against, especially in their own building. The Blackhawks needed a big effort to even think about beating them. 

Frank Nazar returned to the lineup for Chicago in this game. That means that Nazar, Connor Bedard, Nick Lardis, Oliver Moore, and Artyom Levshunov skated in the same lineup for the first time together. The future brightens for the organization every day. There are more great prospects on the way. 

The Blackhawks weren't playing at their best early in this game, but that didn't stop them from going up 1-0. Ilya Mikheyev scored a short-handed goal to make it 1-0 at 11:12 of the first period. 

The lead didn't last long, however, as Joel Nystrom scored his first career NHL goal to tie the game up at one. 

In the second period, Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato made a nifty play to find Nick Lardis, who scored his 6th of the season to make it 2-1 Blackhawks. 

Before long, at 9:16 of the middle frame, Jordan Staal tied the game back up. He created a two-on-one by taking advantage of a tough Artyom Levshunov pinch. That put Connor Bedard in a bad position, and Staal took full advantage.  

Later in the period, Lardis took a big hit from Hurricanes defenseman Alex Nikishin. Oliver Moore, who was celebrating his 21st birthday on Thursday, came to the defense of his linemate.

Although the fight decisively went to Nikishin (three punches), it was a great move by Moore as he stood up for his fellow rookie. After connecting on a goal earlier in the period, you can expect more big moments for Moore and Lardis together. 

The 2-2 tie held through the second intermission. In the final frame, the two teams exchanged goals once more.

Connor Murphy received a beautiful pass from Tyler Bertuzzi before putting on the moves to score his second goal of the season, less than a minute before Jackson Blake scored a tap-in goal on a neat pass by Logan Stankoven. 

Nothing more came in regulation time or overtime, so the match went to a shootout. There, Connor Bedard and Andrei Svechnikov each scored in the second round, but that was all of the scoring until they got all the way to the sixth round. 

In that sixth round, after Spencer Knight kept Mark Jankowski from scoring, Oliver Moore completed his big birthday game with the shootout winner. 

This won't count as an official Gordie Howe Hat Trick for Moore on his birthday, but for all intents and purposes, he scored one. His team won in large part because of the way he played. 

It must also be noted that the Blackhawks went 5/5 on the penalty kill in this game. They are now up to 85.1 percent on the PK, officially jumping the Colorado Avalanche for first in the NHL.

The Blackhawks are not likely going to jump enough teams to be a playoff team, but wins like this prove that they deserve to be in the conversation as a bubble team. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks are back in action on Friday night. They will host the Tampa Bay Lightning at the United Center on a cold night in Chicago. 

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Friday's Time Schedule

All Times EST

Friday, Jan. 23

NBA

Houston at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Boston at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Phoenix at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Sacramento at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Denver at Milwaukee, 9:30 p.m.

Toronto at Portland, 10 p.m.

NHL

Tampa Bay at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Vegas at Toronto, 7 p.m.

St. Louis at Dallas, 8 p.m.

Philadelphia at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Washington at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Anaheim at Seattle, 10 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers at San Jose, 10 p.m.

New Jersey at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

T25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 3 Michigan vs. Ohio St., 8 p.m.

No. 24 Saint Louis at St. Bonaventure, 5:30 p.m.

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Yankees add young infielder to minor league system as depth piece

An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows Marco Luciano #37 of the San Francisco Giants bats during a spring training game against the Athletics at HoHoKam Stadium on February 25, 2025 in Mesa, Arizona.

The Yankees added some depth to their minor league system Thursday, when they claimed Marco Luciano off waivers from the Orioles.

The 24-year-old Luciano last appeared in the majors for the Giants in 2024 and played 41 games for San Francisco from 2023-24, putting up an OPS of just .590.

Primarily a middle infielder earlier in his minor league career, Luciano spent all of last season with Triple-A Sacramento and played left field.

Marco Luciano of the Giants bats during a spring training game against the Athletics at HoHoKam Stadium on Feb. 25, 2025 in Mesa, Ariz. Getty Images

It’s been a busy offseason for Luciano, who was claimed off waivers by the Pirates and Orioles earlier in the offseason, so there’s no guarantee he’ll make it to Tampa for spring training with the Yankees.

Luciano was among the top international free agents when he signed with the Giants for $2.6 million in 2018 out of the Dominican Republic.

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Oliver Moore scores in shootout on 21st birthday, leads Blackhawks to 4-3 win over Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Oliver Moore scored in the shootout on his 21st birthday and Spencer Knight stopped five of six shots by Carolina to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 shootout win over the Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Connor Murphy, Ilya Mikheyev and Nick Lardis scored in regulation for the Blackhawks. Knight, who shut out Winnipeg on Monday night, made 28 saves in regulation and overtime for his second straight win.

Joel Nystrom, Jordan Staal and Jackson Blake scored for the Hurricanes, whose five-game home winning streak ended. Frederik Andersen stopped 18 shots and four more in the shootout.

The win capped an eventful night for Moore, who celebrated a milestone birthday. He was on the wrong side of a fight with Alexander Nikishin in the second period and then nearly won the game in overtime but was robbed by Andersen.

Chicago led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but couldn’t put the Hurricanes away in regulation. Carolina has yet to lose in regulation with top defenseman Jaccob Slavin in the lineup (8-0-3).

Murphy and Blake traded goals 82 seconds apart near in the back half of the third period to send it to overtime.

Andersen came up with a pair saves — on Moore and Frank Nazar — in the third period to keep the game tied at 2 . He made two bigger saves — on Wyatt Kaiser and Moore — in overtime.

The Hurricanes tied it at 2 on Staal’s first goal since Dec. 19 at 9:16 of the second. Chicago had taken a 2-1 advantage after Lardis’ goal at 4:35 in the second.

Mikheyev swatted in his own rebound at 11:12 in the first to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. It was Mikheyev’s first short-handed goal of the season.

Nystrom tied it with his first NHL goal at 12:50 in the first. The rookie defenseman has nine points in 36 games.

Up next

Blackhawks: Host Tampa Bay on Friday night.

Hurricanes: Travel to Ottawa on Saturday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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Sovereignty wins Horse of the Year at Eclipse Awards, Bill Mott named top trainer

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Sovereignty won Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards on Thursday night, as well as 3-year-old male honors, and Bill Mott, who guided the colt to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, was named trainer of the year.

Sovereignty skipped the Preakness and won the Belmont during Triple Crown season. He was forced to miss the Breeders’ Cup Classic because of a fever.

The 55th annual ceremony at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach also crowned Ted Noffey as 2-year-old male horse, capping a season in which he went 4-for-4, including a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

The colt trainer by Todd Pletcher is the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby in May.

Ted Noffey won his career debut at Saratoga in August. He followed up with an 8 1/2-length victory in the Hopeful Stakes at the upstate New York track. Then came a 2 3/4-length win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. He closed 2025 with a one-length win in the BC Juvenile at Del Mar.

In other categories, Flavien Prat won jockey of the year and Pietro Moran was named apprentice jockey. Godolphin LLC, the racing and breeding operation of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, won as owner. Godolphin was named breeder of the year.

Other male winners were Japan-bred Forever Young as older dirt male; Book'em Danno as male sprinter; and Britain-bred Notable Speech as male turf horse.

Among female horses, Super Corredora won as 2-year-old filly; Nitrogen was chosen 3-year-old filly; Thorpedo Anna was named older dirt female; Shisospicy won female sprinter; and She Feels Pretty won female turf horse honors.

Cool Jet took steeplechase horse honors.

Named for the 18th-century horse and sire Eclipse, the awards are voted on by members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.

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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

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Jaloni Cambridge scores 22 and No. 12 Ohio State women beat Indiana 81-67

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge scored 22 points and Chance Gray and Kennedy Cambridge each added 13 for No. 12 Ohio State in an 81-67 comeback win over Indiana on Thursday night.

The Buckeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten) were down 42-32 at halftime. But a 14-1 run in the third quarter, lasting almost three minutes, gave the Buckeyes the lead they would not relinquish. It is the fifth time this season Ohio State has gone into halftime trailing before going on to win the game.

Jaloni Cambridge scored 13 points in the second half and Gray added 10.

Lenée Beaumont scored 20 for Indiana (11-9, 0-8) and Shay Ciezki, the Big Ten's leading scorer, added 19 before fouling out. Zania Socka-Nguemen had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ciezki was 7 of 11 from the field, including five made 3-pointers.

Indiana committed 26 turnovers, 15 in the second half, which turned into 34 Buckeye points. The Hoosiers shot 56.4% from the field, including 11 of 17 from 3-point range.

Up next

Indiana: Visits Purdue on Sunday.

Ohio State: Visits No. 10 Iowa on Sunday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

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Sabres beat Canadiens 4-2 for their 17th victory in 21 games

MONTREAL (AP) — Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves, Jason Zucker, Beck Malenstyn and Zach Benson gave Buffalo an early lead and the Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday night for their 17th victory in 21 games.

Peyton Krebs added an empty-netter in the third. The Sabres improved to 28-17-5, beating Montreal for the second time in eight days.

Cole Caufield scored for the fourth straight game for Montreal, and Nick Suzuki also connected, The Canadiens dropped to 28-16-7. They had won two in a row.

Samuel Montembeault stopped 13 shots in his first regulation loss since being called up from a conditioning assignment with Laval of the AHL on Dec. 27.

Buffalo is two points behind Montreal for third place in the Atlantic Division.

Up next

Sabres: At the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Canadiens: At Boston on Saturday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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3 things to know from the Mavericks’ 123-115 win over the Golden State Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors Thursday night, winning 123-115. The win brings the Mavericks’ record to 19-26. The Warriors drop to 25-21. Steph Curry led all scorers with 38 points, while Naji Marshall led Dallas with 30.

The game started about an hour earlier than most Mavericks home games, and the disruption in the schedule seemed to throw both teams. The Warriors didn’t score until 8:32 left in the first quarter, when a Steph Curry 3-pointer finally got them on the board. The Mavericks didn’t fare much better, though, only able to open a 6-0 lead in that time. The teams finally found some offensive rhythm midway through the first quarter, but couldn’t sustain it. The Warriors continued to miss shots in the second quarter, but found their way to the line. The Mavericks started hitting some shots, but kept turning the ball over. With some tough rebounding and getting out on fast breaks often, Dallas was able to grind out a 55-50 lead at halftime.

The Warriors came out firing in the third quarter and took the lead, but couldn’t keep the momentum going. The Mavericks looked like the better team for a large stretch of the third. The only problem was Steph Curry. He simply decided Golden State wasn’t going to roll over and unleashed a flurry of shots, scoring 13 points in the quarter. His offensive burst opened things up for his teammates, and by the end of the third, the Warriors had flipped the Mavericks’ five-point lead and went up 89-84.

Dallas refused to quit, though. They muddied up the game and then got their own momentum, taking a big lead halfway through the fourth quarter. The constant pressure from the Mavericks seemed to wear down the Warriors, who suddenly couldn’t score or get a stop. The Mavericks took a double-digit lead with a 24-5 run. Once they had the lead, Dallas just grinded out the last four minutes, taking home the win.

Here are three thoughts from the game:

Cooper’s complete game

Halfway through Flagg’s rookie season, it’s becoming obvious that he’s got a well-rounded game. He does a little of everything on the stat sheet, and some things that don’t show up in the box score. That was on full display tonight. To go along with his 21 points, he also put up 11 rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He was active on defense all night and put pressure on the Warriors when he had the ball. The only thing really missing from his game right now is consistent 3-point shooting. There’s no reason to think he won’t figure that out. The great ones have an almost supernatural ability to sharpen the weak edges in their game, and Flagg is showing some glaring potential of greatness.

Sloppy play almost gave the game away

The Mavericks played better than the Warriors for most of the game tonight. They dominated the boards, scored more points on fast breaks and in the paint, and shot better. But they almost gave the game away because they couldn’t stop giving the ball away. They turned the ball over 22 times on Thursday, conceding 21 points off those give aways. They tightened it up in the fourth quarter when they went on the run to take over the game, but still turned it over five times in the last period. (Some of those were in absolute garbage time.) Once they held onto the ball, they took a commanding lead and coasted to the win.

The Mavericks need a veteran point guard

Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams are fun players. I’ve enjoyed watching them this year, and I hope at least one of them is on the team for a couple years. But the Mavericks need a veteran point guard who can run the offense and make the offense easier for the rest of the team. Especially for Flagg. Nembhard and Williams just don’t have the experience, and it shows at times. The offense becomes disjointed and inconsistent for stretches, and with the close games the Mavericks play, those stretches of stalled offense are the difference between wins and losses. It’s much too early to start thinking of specific players, but it’s something Dallas front office should have on their mind this summer.

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Jet Greaves makes 28 saves, Zach Werenski scores to lead Blue Jackets to 1-0 win over Stars

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jet Greaves had 28 saves for his third career shutout, Zach Werenski scored his 19th goal of the season, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Dallas Stars 1-0 on Thursday night.

Werenski scored at 8:48 of the first period with a wrist shot from the right circle that went through traffic and inside the far post with assists from Damon Severson and Isac Lundestrom, who had missed 12 games with a lower-body injury suffered in practice on Dec. 27.

The Blue Jackets have now won five of their last six.

Casey DeSmith stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced but could not prevent the Stars from losing for the fourth time in their last five games. The Stars outshot the Blue Jackets 28-22.

Blue Jackets forward Charlie Coyle played in his 1,000th career game, the fifth player to reach the mark in a Columbus uniform. He scored into an empty net late in the game but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The former first-round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks has 199 goals and 316 assists in his career with Minnesota, Boston, Colorado and Columbus.

Mason Marchment returned to the Blue Jackets lineup after missing eight games with an upper-body injury suffered Jan. 4 against Pittsburgh.

Up next

Stars: Play at home against St. Louis on Friday night.

Blue Jackets: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday night in the third game of a five-game homestand.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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Wizards vs. Nuggets recap: Washington falls short 107-97 against Denver

The Washington Wizards were unable to keep up with the Denver Nuggets on Thursday in a 107-97 loss at Capital One Arena, extending the team’s losing streak to eight games.

The Wiz Kids started this one ice cold, missing on 14 of their first 18 shot attempts as the Nuggets built up a double-digit lead in the first quarter. Will Riley helped stop the bleeding with back-to-back triples to close out the opening period, getting the good guys to within 27-23 after 1.

The first quarter also saw Alex Sarr and Aaron Gordon combine for an unusual bucket that would give anyone an automatic letter in a game of H.O.R.S.E.

Washington battled back in Q2 to take a momentary 34-33 lead off a Khris Middleton jumper. Kyshawn George led the way with 12 points at the half as his team trailed 48-46 heading into the break.

Tre Johnson got hot in the third quarter. He scored eight straight points in the span of a minute, capped off by this corner step-back three that would have made Ray Allen proud.

The Wizards kept pace with the Nuggets through the early stretches of the fourth quarter. A pair of Sarr free throws tied the game at 83. That’s when Denver, led by Peyton Watson’s career-high 35 points, put the game away with a 9-0 run.

George had a team-high 20 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists — the 10th time this season he’s led the team in scoring. Tre Johnson was a close second with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Will Riley made an impact as a reserve, accounting for 13 points of the Wizards’ 21 bench points.

Washington’s next chance to snap its losing streak comes Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets.

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Jonathan Kuminga injury update: What we know after Warriors-Mavs exit

Jonathan Kuminga was ruled out for the rest of the game between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks on Thursday due to "left knee soreness," the Warriors said.

The forward came up limping after he was pushed by a member of the Mavericks during a dunk attempt with 4:28 remaining in the second quarter. Kuminga was seen limping after the attempt and appeared to ask a young girl to move from her seat so he could sit down.

He was later seen on the broadcast walking back to the locker room with a member of the Warriors' staff.

The Congolese player's injury is not expected to be serious, according to ESPN's Anthony Slater, who reported that Kuminga did twist his ankle and suffered a minor knee hyperextension. Kuminga had 10 points, two assists and two steals in nine minutes of play.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed to reporters that Kuminga's ankle and knee were both impacted and said Kuminga would be getting an MRI on Friday, Jan. 23.

"We’ll see how bad it is. Such a shame, he was playing great. That definitely hurt us, not having him available for the second half," Kerr said, per The San Francisco Standard's Danny Emerman.

The Mavericks dominated the Warriors down the stretch, outscoring them 39-26 in the fourth quarter, to win 123-115.

Kuminga was expected to see an increase in minutes within the Warriors' rotation after Jimmy Butler was ruled out for the season after he suffered a torn ACL earlier this week.

The fifth-year pro made headlines after demanding a trade away from Golden State on Jan. 15. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5. He’d recently missed 13 games for the team.

He signed a two-year deal worth $48.5 million to remain with the Warriors in late September.

This story has been updated with new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jonathan Kuminga injury update, what we know

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Sabres Defender Exits Canadiens Matchup Injured

The injury bug is continuing to bite the Buffalo Sabres. 

Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson was forced to leave the team's Jan. 22 matchup against the Montreal Canadiens early after suffering an upper-body injury. 

Bryson was limited to only 6:17 of ice time during the Sabres' contest against the Canadiens due to his injury. During the matchup, he recorded two blocks and a plus-1 rating. 

Bryson has appeared in 33 games so far this season with the Sabres, where he has recorded two goals, three assists, and five points. This is after he had seven assists and a minus-9 rating in 48 games with the Sabres during this past season. 

In 287 career NHL games over six seasons with the Sabres, Bryson has recorded six goals, 42 assists, 48 points, and 58 penalty minutes. 

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Is Yadier Molina the Manager the Cardinals Need After Rebuild?

It’s hard to tackle a topic like this without unintentionally disrespecting the current manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, but I have to wonder if Yadier Molina might be the leader the team needs once the ongoing rebuild is complete. But, I also have a few reservations about why I fear that it might not be the great idea many of us think it is.

Let me be clear that I am not an anti-Oli Marmol person. While he’s not my favorite St. Louis Cardinals manager ever, I realize he’s been working with a roster that has been lacking to say the least. Oli did a good job handling a tricky lineup in 2022 when Albert Pujols rejoined the Cardinals for his final season, but let’s not talk about his bullpen use during the playoffs that year against the Phillies. No matter what you think of Oli as a manager, I think many in the Cardinals fanbase will forever view him as a remnant of the John Mozeliak era no matter if that’s fair or not. My point is I want to look at Yadi’s capabilities and not Oli Marmol’s faults.

We learned this week that the St. Louis Cardinals had hired Yadi again as a special assistant to the President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom. The Cardinals said “Yadi will provide input on our catching program, will advise our staff on catching and game planning strategy and will give…our front office valuable perspective from his unique vantage point.”. The St. Louis Cardinals emphasized the need for Yadi to communicate his “championship mindset” to the players. My mind immediately began wondering if the team will someday turn to Yadi to execute that as the manager.

Let’s pretend there will be no work stoppage after the season because the owners and players can’t get together on a new collective bargaining agreement. For the sake of argument, let’s also say the foundational aspects of the St. Louis Cardinals rebuild is in good shape after just a couple of seasons. If the team decides that Oli Marmol is not the manager that’s needed when the Cardinals are ready to seriously contend again, should Yadi Molina be the next St. Louis skipper? I have created a pros and cons list because there are some real concerns.

Let’s start with the obvious pros. Yadier Molina has elite levels of tactical knowledge. Tony La Russa once said that he considered Yadi as an extra coach on the field. He said that Yadi “thinks and manages a game and a pitching staff as well as anybody ever has”. I can’t think of anyone I would want handling the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen for a full season than Yadi. He’s also a proven leader, not just during his Cardinals playing career but also as a manager in the Puerto Rican winter league. Yadi was the on-field leader that helped bring world championships to St. Louis in 2006 and 2011. There is no aspect of team and field management that he does not possess.

The cons list isn’t substantial, but there are a few potential hurdles that would give me pause before I offered Yadier this opportunity. The first and most significant is his ability to commit to a full season and all that requires when his involvement with the team over the past couple of years has been limited by family needs. I also wonder if Yadi has the patience needed to deal with the media on a day-to-day basis. While I was often entertained by some of the tense Tony La Russa post-game interviews (especially after a loss), it’s vital that a manager be able to handle media responsibilities. Would Yadi’s sometimes intense demeanor have the patience for that? That would be interesting. A modern day manager needs to understand how to incorporate all of the new data and technology that’s available into decision making and I’m not aware of how Yadi feels about that.

One thing I do not question is Yadier Molina’s drive to accomplish something that he sets out to do and it’s clear that he envisions himself as a major league manager someday. I think his new “special” assistant role with the Cardinals could be the key step to preparing him for that opportunity. If his family demands allow him to be a full-time manager, I believe he might be the perfect next leader of the St. Louis Cardinals. When you factor in how much the St. Louis Cardinals fanbase loves Yadi, it’s a marketing team’s dream for him to someday become the manager. Let’s watch this coming season and see if Yadi is a more visible presence with a bigger time investment. If that happens, we could be seeing the transition of a legendary Cardinals player into the future manager he so longs to be.

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Cotie McMahon scored 33 points to tie a career-high and No. 18 Mississippi women beat Missouri 82-61

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Cotie McMahon scored 33 points to tie a career-high, and she added 12 points and five assists to help No. 18 Mississippi beat Missouri 82-61 on Thursday night.

McMahon, who was held to nine points in an 82-59 loss to Georgia on Sunday, was 13 of 23 from the field and 6 of 11 at the free-throw line to match her previous scoring high set on Jan. 21, 2024, against Iowa.

Sira Thienou also had a double-double for Ole Miss (17-4, 4-2 SEC) with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Latasha Lattimore added 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

Grace Slaughter led Missouri (13-9, 1-6) with 21 points and seven rebounds. Shannon Dowell added 15 points. The Tigers have lost the last five matchup in the series.

Ole Miss led 29-23 at halftime before erupting for 33 points in the fourth quarter.

The Rebels missed their first shot of the fourth before making 11 in a row to close the game. Missouri went over five minutes without making a field goal as the Rebels pulled away on a 13-2 run for a 77-57 lead with 1:37 left.

McMahon scored 14 points in the fourth on 5-of-6 shooting and Thienou added 13 after making all four of her shots, including three 3-pointers.

The Rebels shot 51% overall despite going 5 of 17 (29) behind the arc.

Up next

Ole Miss: Returns home to play No. 17 Tennessee on Monday.

Missouri: Continues a homestand against Texas A&M on Sunday.

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Ball back in starting lineup, helps spark fast start as the Hornets beat Magic 124-97

ORLANDO (AP) — LaMelo Ball returned to Charlotte's starting lineup and had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds as the Hornets beat the Orlando Magic 124-97 on Thursday night.

Ball, who a night earlier had one of the worst shooting performances of his career when he came off the bench as part of a plan to manage his minutes, went 6 for 12 from the field and 4 for 8 from 3-point distance against Orlando. In a loss to Cleveland on Wednesday, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft finished with two points on 1-of-15 shooting, including 0 of 10 from 3-point range.

Brandon Miller scored 20 points to lead Charlotte's balanced effort. Collin Sexton came off the bench and scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half, Kon Knueppel and Tidjane Salaunadded added 13 apiece, and Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner each scored 10.

Paolo Banchero scored 23 points, and Desmond Bane added 21 for the Magic. Moritz Wagner scored 14, Noah Penda added 13 and Jeff Howard 10.

Back in the starting lineup, Ball played a role in the fast start for the Hornets that was missing against Cleveland a night earlier when they trailed by 21 points in the first quarter. Ball scored eight points in seven minutes on 3-for-3 shooting, including 2 for 2 from distance, as Charlotte led 35-20 after a period.

Ball had 11 points in 15 minutes in the first half as Charlotte built a 62-41 lead by the break with 55% (22 for 41) shooting from the floor, and 48% (11 for 23) from beyond the arc. The Hornets outscored Orlando 35-26 in the third and extended their lead to 30 points with a period remaining on the way to their fourth victory in nine games.

The Magic struggled throughout, shooting 33% (13 for 40), including 5 for 19 (26%) from distance in the first half.

Orlando was without guard Jalen Suggs, who missed his eighth straight game due to a right knee injury. Center Moe Wagner was also sidelined due to left knee management and could return to the lineup this weekend.

Up next

Hornets: Host the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

Magic: Host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA